Installing the Active Worlds Server (Unix version)

The Unix version of the Active Worlds Server is available for computers running Linux Red Hat 6.0 or later. Note that other versions of Linux may work but are not officially supported at this time.

These installation instructions require that you have downloaded the latest version of the Active Worlds Server Software from our web site at www.activeworlds.com/products/download.asp.

Unless you have access to your own Active Worlds Universe, you must also have purchased an Active Worlds Server license from Activeworlds Inc. and have received a valid name and password for your world. For more information on acquiring a license for your world, see our server web page.

Once you have downloaded the Active Worlds Server and transferred the file to your Unix host, please follow these simple instructions:

  1. Install the server software

    Create a new directory to store the server files, and place the server file there. For this example, assume the name of the file is "awssun43.tar.gz":

    mkdir ~/awserver mv awssun43.tar.gz ~/awserver cd ~/awserver

    Unpack the file:

    gunzip awssun43.tar.gz tar xvf awssun43.tar

    The tar file unpacks into the following:

    atdump atload convert ejdump ejload elevdump elevload propdump propload world worldsdump worldsload example.ini license.txt readme.txt

  2. Modify the world.ini file

    After unpacking the .tar file, you need to add an administration password to the world.ini file before starting the server. To do this, first copy the example file "example.ini" file to the file "world.ini":

    cp example.ini world.ini

    Then edit world.ini using any text editor such as vi. At the top of the file, you will see a section like this:

    [server] password= Choose an administration password for your server and enter it after the password=. The password can be anything, but as with any password it should be long and hard to guess. For example, if you chose the password "hobart119$xxa", your world.ini would look like this:

    [server] password=hobart119$xxa

  3. Specify a backup directory (optional)

    The Active Worlds Server has the ability to maintain an automated backup of itself at all times. You are strongly encouraged to make use of this feature, as accidents do happen and world data is occasionally lost due to file corruption, disk failure, etc. If the server database files are accidentally damaged or deleted and you do not have a backup, all of the building in your worlds will be lost and cannot be recovered! To activate the automatic backup feature, simply specify the name of a backup directory in the .ini file like this (the directory name shown here is just an example):

    [backup] dir=/etc/backups/myworld

    Now you can save the world.ini file and exit the text editor.

  4. Start the server

    Start the server by typing:

    world The process will run in the background automatically. If you return to the command prompt with no messages, this means the process has started successfully.

  5. Install the administration client

    Next, download and install the administration tool from www.activeworlds.com/products/download.asp. The administration tool is a Windows program that connects to your Unix server over the network and allows you to configure it.

  6. Configure the administration tool to access your server by entering your server's host, port, and password.

    See administering multiple or remote servers for details.

  7. Add your world(s) to the server.

    Finally, using the administration tool, add your world to the server, reset it, and you are done!

For instructions on how to install the Active Worlds server in other operating systems, see the following additional help pages: